welcome to al jazeera america, i'm stephanie sy. here are the stories we're following for you. president obama skips two international conferences, gearing for tropical storm karen with fears it could turn into a hurricane. ♪ the door is apparently slammed shut to negotiations on capitol hill. we are in our fourth day of the

federal government shutdown. here are the latest headlines. randall pinkston joins us live from washington. good morning, randall. i figure something has got to give. does anyone know what that might be in >> well, while there may not be a negotiation scheduled between president obama and senate democrats, there are apparently intense discussions going on within the republican party in the house of representatives. speaker boehner has it within his power to make a move to get this whole thing settled, and president obama is saying it is up to boehner. the white house was forced to

keep his tension on the white house. he canceled his trip to asia because of the shutdown. jay carney said . . . president obama called his indonesian counterpart who was said to have understood the reasons. the president comes on the heels of the president skrcrubbing hi plans to visit malaysia and the philippines earlier in the week. in his place secretary kerry will visit the region. while president obama will be absent in asia, so will a

potential meeting with president putin. the two were set to speak after hardly speaking last month. back here in the u.s. lawmakers continued the budget fight. but outside -- [ gunfire ] >> reporter: a deadly shootout and car chase between capitol police and a female driver put washington in lockdown. earlier in the day the dispute over the government shutdown continued. speaking at a construction site, president obama laid the blame solely on republicans. >> the problem we have got is that there is one faction of one party in one-half of one branch of government that so far has refused to allow that yes or no vote unless they get some massive partisan concessions in exchange for doing what they are supposed to be doing anyway. >> reporter: the obama administration is also raising concerns about the impending

debt ceiling deadline. an app ed article jack lew warned that if the u.s. does not pay its bills and triggers a default, millions of americans will suffer. if the united states cannot pay its bills in full and on time, each and every american will be effected including seniors who rely on social security veterans who depend on disability payments, children in need of food assistance, and doctors and hospitals. but there is a glimmer of hope the debt ceiling will be raised by october 17th. thursday house speaker john boehner -- >> reporter: speaker boehner is saying if he cannot get enough support from his republicans, he has said privately that he is going to do whatever it takes to not go in to default. and likely means will be join

with house democrats to pass a clean bill. back live now outside of the capitol we have some furloughed workers who are demonstrating calling on members of congress to make sure that they pass legislation to give all furloughed workers back pay. after yesterday's shootout in washington, involving many officers who have been furloughed, they are now some changing attitudes in the congress about those furloughed workers. in fact majority leader harry reid was heard -- [ technical difficulties ] -- conversations and calling on all members of the house and senate not to attack each other personally as majority leader reid has recently done. >> and even some democrats are criticizes harry reid for some of his rhetoric. some are saying the shutdown and

the debt ceiling both of these debates are colliding at this point, and necessitating a grand bargain, but both sides seem so far apart is that idea far fetched? >> i think at this juncture, based on what i'm hearing, it is farfetched to talk about a grand bargain. the last time there was a deal over the debt ceiling, we got the sequester. the sequester did suppress spending. it was what the republicans wanted. democrats are saying, they are willing president obama, speaker reid, minority leader pelosi in the house, they are all saying they are willing to talk about long-term debt, deficits, budgets, but they also want to talk about debt limits. and they will have to get some kind of accommodation if they are going to move forward.

>> all right. thanks, randall. earlier today al jazeera spoke with tea party express cofounder sal russo, he called on president obama to work with republicans to end the shutdown. >> where it's the fiscal cliff on the sequester we have had a number of opportunities where people can come together and make things happen and make changes that everybody can agree on. that's the art of government is to compromise. and right now the house republicans and republicans in the senate are eager to compromise. but the president in his meeting the day before yesterday with congressional leaders wouldn't budge an inch. the president can't say my way or the highway. he has got to give something. he has got to find some acceptable solution, and he is not doing that. >> a bipartisan group has proposed a plan that would repeal a medical device attacks

and maintain automatic spending cuts. we're going to live now to john boehner to listen in to a press conference. >> good morning, everyone. you know, when -- when we have a crisis like we're in the middle of this week, the american people expect their leaders to sit down and try to resolve their differences. i was at the white house the other night, and listened to the president some 20 times explain to me why he wasn't going to negotiate. sat there and listened to the majority leader in the united states senate, describe to me that he is not going to talk until we surrender, and then this morning, i get the "wall street journal" out, and it says we don't care how long this lasts because we're winning. this isn't some damn game! the american people don't want their government shut down, and neither do i.

all we're asking for is to sit down and have a discussion and to bring fairness -- reopen the government and bring fairness to the american people under obamacare. it's as simple as that, but it all has to begin with a simple dispugs. -- discussion. >> good morning, this week the american people have seen once again that obamacare is not ready for prime time. a disfungal website is the least of that law's problems, and we have asked as the speaker said for basic fairness to the american people no special treatment for anyone under the law, and we are continuing to ask for that, no special treatments for us, and no special treatment for special interests. now the president continues to refuse to sit down with us republicans and sadly, that is a hallmark of his presidency. in divided government, americans expect us to work together to

solve problems. this week the house passed legislation to open up parks and mem roarals, to reopen clinical trials for children with cancer, to allow the district of columbia, to be locally funded and fund veteran services and the national guard. today we're going to vote to open fema and the national weather service as we witness a growing storm in the gulf, and we're also going to vote to provide nutrition services for women and children in poverty. we plan to also later next week, open up head start, and tomorrow we're going to vote to ensure that all furloughed federal employees know that they will receive their pay once this shutdown is over. 57 democrats have joined us this week to make sure that some of these critical functions of government are operating while we in washington are trying to work out our differences.

i'm hopeful we can see more bipartisanship and start talking so we can restore the confidence in our economy and the faith in our government. >> this morning i read how the president canceled his trip to asia. it's a perfect opportunity now that he is here that we can begin negotiations. has the spoker pointed out it doesn't matter how long we're shutdown. i believe it does. now is the time we get in the room, settle our differences, and move this country forward. >> we continue to hear from the president that the way out of this shutdown is to basically give him everything he wants. he wants the easy way out, without addressing the debt

crisis, without addressing a stagnant economy and unaffordable healthcare law. we have heard the president say the republicans are holding the u.s. hostage. he has said that he has bent over backwards to work with us. his words may sound good, but you know what, actions speak louder than words. this is the president and the democrats in the senate that continue to tell us that they are not going to negotiate. they aren't even willing to come to the table. the republicans in the house are committed to keeping this house open. we are working every day to get this government open, and what we need is for a dialogue to begin with the democrats in the senate and with the president. these bills that we're working on, this legislation is an area where we should be able to start finding some common ground so that we can have a dialogue over the big issues that face this

country; that the american people want to see us address. >> you just heard republican house members -- let's listen in again to speaker boehner. >> -- in a negotiation nobody gets 100 of what they want. they're not going to get in this one either. yes, sir? >> reporter: mr. speaker [ inaudible ]? >> listen, the issue right now is the continuing resolution to open the government. and all we're asking for is for harry reid to point conferees so we can sit down and have a conversation about bringing fairness to the american government and getting our government open. >> reporter: mr. speaker

[ inaudible ] democrats are interpreting that [ inaudible ] 11th hour [ inaudible ]. >> listen, you have all heard me say this going back over the last two or three years. our goal was tonight shut down the government. our goal here was to bring fairness to the american people under obamacare. i don't believe we should default on our debt. it's not good for our country, but after 55 years of spending more than we bring in, should be addressed. i think the american people expect if we're going to raise the amount of money we can borrow, we ought to do something about our spending problem and the lack of economic growth in our country. >> reporter: the showdown

about -- [ inaudible ]? >> we sent four bills to the united states senate. four different positions, trying to soften our position to get the senate interested, in keeping the government open and bringing fairness to the american people under obamacare. it's as simple as that. >> last question! >> reporter: mr. speaker [ inaudible ]? >> no. no. that's just not true. that is just -- listen, that is not true. most of you have dealt with me for sometime, and i might have sniped at luke once or twice, all right? [ laughter ] >> but i have very good relationships with all of my colleagues across the aisle. listen -- it's me. and maintaining these relationships is critically important. all i'm asking for is let's sit down like the american people would expect us, and talk to one

another about getting thement government open and dealing with the significant problems that we face. >> reporter: what about a grand barga bargain. >> you were watching a live press conference lead by house speaker john boehner, and flanked by republican colleagues of his in the house. they are calling for senate democrats to let one of their bills pass on the budget, but each of those bills continues provisions that would strip obamacare of funding or delay obamacare, and senate democrats won't have that. they also said they will not pass opening the government piece by piece, the way house republicans continue to try for. meanwhile the comments by house speaker boehner and other republicans is taking the gas out of a stock market rally. the dow had been rising on the hope that we might see an end to

the impasse. the september jobs report has been delayed because of the shutdown. residents along the gulf are getting ready for tropical storm karen. a state of emergency has been declared in mississippi, louisiana, and 18 countries across florida. tourists have been warned to return home or cancel their plans, and those who live in low-lying areas along the coast are being encouraged to move to high ground. mississippi's bay st. louis is one of those areas. ben how is the storm prep going over there? >> reporter: stephanie, right now it's sunny, as you can see over my shoulder right now. a pleasant little breeze blowing through, but you have to consider that a lot of these people are from here.

there is certainly a cautious awareness. a lot of these people along the gulf coast in this area are from here. so they have been through this before, which is a good and a bad thing. they have seen people tell them that a storm was going to be terrible and it not be, and they have not taken enough precaution, and something like katrina or betsy in the 60s or kamil in the 60s, really give them a wallop. we just spoke to a police officer who said people aren't going crazy, they are not boarding up windows, but they are a little bit concerned. i just spoke to a man a little while ago who works for a construction company, and his company's policy is if there is a tropical storm in the gulf that they don't work that day. that's just the policy out of an abundance of caution. he was a little upset, because he has been following this, and

said look, i don't think this is going to be that bad, and i'm missing out on a paycheck today, but i'm definitely keeping a keen eye on it. governor jindal has declared a state of emergency as has the governor of mississippi and florida, and the only evacuations that have been ordered is in grand aisle louisiana, and that's just volunteer. so just people cautiously watching right now. >> all right. i know you'll continue to fol three. thanks, ben. now let's bring in s meteorologist. >> thank you. we are also continuing to monitor karen. we do have satellite imagery. if you were in outer space this is what you would see of karen. the majority of activity is really to the east of the storm.

it is having difficulty developing on the westerly flank, because there are westerly winds pushing through, and those winds will continue to be a problem. we expect it to make late saturday night into early sunday morning, and most of the models indicate that it will push on shore really to the east of new orleans, and then it will track across a little bit of water here in the gulf and then make its way on shore just to the east of mobile, alabama. the primary threat is the heavy rainfall. immediately at the coast you are going to see about six inches of rain, but areas just to the east, towards montgomery alabama could see up to four inches of rain, heavier rain across northern portions of mississippi and georgia as well. we'll continue to monitor the system. back to you stephanie. post francis visits asisi,

and calls for church reform. the restaurant industry. >> the employers have the upper hand out here. they can steal from you and face very little if any consequences. >> basically this industry is saying, "we don't have to pay these workers at all. they should work for us but we don't have to pay them. >> two thirds of low-wage workers experience wage theft every week. >> you're telling me that these people are allowed to treat people like this and you can't do anything?

[[voiceover]] there's more to america. more stories. more voices. more points of view. >>from our headquarters in new york ... [[voiceover]] now there's a news channel with more of what americans want to know. >>i'm ali velshi, and this is real money. >>this is america tonight. >>our news coverage, reporting, and documentaries explore, inspire, and reveal more of america's stories. >>i'm here to investigate genetically modified salmon.

walking in the footsteps of his namesake, the pope is on an historic trip to asisi, where he is taking his vision of a church for the poor. he is discussing a radical reform program for the vatican along with other church leaders. some hundred thousand pill grams followed the pope. prosecutors have asked a judge to throw the book at the former mayor of detroit. he is facing up to 28 years in prison. he is accused of spending $840,000 in city funding during his state as major. kilpatrick quit in 2008 and pleaded guilty in a separate sex scandal. wall street is without one of its most important pieces of

data today. usually on the first friday of october, we would be talking about the september jocks all right, but because of the government shutdown the labor report wasn't able to put out those numbers. americans attempting to sign on to the new online health insurance exchanges are still facing technical problems, and that's leading to a growing backlog of people waiting to register with the system. healthcare.gov has been having trouble handling the cases. now health clinics are getting thousands of requests from people trying to enroll. a tropical storm is heading toward the us. meteorologist jelelah ahmed is back, and she'll be tracking the system. ç]

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there's a unique exhibition here in new york city. it is called jfk a bistander's view of history. it focuses on the assassination of john f kennedy. the exhibit opens today and runs until january 19th. ♪ we continue to monitor tropical storm karen as it continues to push north, northwest towards the gulf coast, and right now we do know that the system is going to be continuing to push at about 10 miles per hour, the winds are measured around 60 miles per hour. take a look at the satellite imagery. this is what you would see from outer space. the strongest part of the storm is really off to the east, the north and the east, okay?

so what karen is attempting to do here is build a wall of thunderstorms and circulate. if it did that it would be upgraded to a hurricane. the winds need to be between 75 to 85 miles an hour, but because there are such strong winds pushing in from the west, it is really inhibiting karen. we expect it to push towards the east after making landfall, and then it will continue to push north to the east of mobile. heavy rain is going to be the primary threat here along the gulf coast. we're talking about six inches of rain. we could even see strong storms out of that to produce a few tornados. so we could see up to 4 inches of rain to the east of new orleans, a lot of major roadways here that will be effected.

elsewhere we have a strong area of low-pressure continuing to track across portions of wyoming and up in to the dakotas. today the threat of tornados really exist in idaho. this is going to interact with this really warm air mass across the central plains. all the way from minnesota, we have the threat of damaging winds, hail, and the chance of tornados. we have blizzard like conditions developing across wyoming and into denver. again, the threat for damaging winds, hail, and a few isolated tornados. >> jelelah thanks.

and thank you for watching. i'm stephanie sy. for more throughout the day go to aljazeera.com.